Means for straightening cars and their loads



A. C. HINCKLEY.

MEANS FOR STRAIGHTENING CARS AND THEIR LOADS.

ABPLICATION men OCT. 8, 1920.

1 ,386, 1 75 tented Aug- 2, 1921.

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A. c. HINCKLEY, MEANS FOR STEAI GHTENING CARS-AND THEIR LOADS.- APPLICAHON FILED OCR-3| 19.20.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

A. c. HINCKLEY. MEANS FOR STRAIGHTENING CARS AND THEIR LOADS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 8, 1920. 1,386,175.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

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firm new UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

MEANS FOR STRAIGHTENING CARS AND THEIR LOADS.

Specification of'Letters Patent.

Patented A11 2, 1921.

Application filed October 8, 1920. Serial No. 415,546.

To all to 720m it may concern Be it known that I, AUoUsTUs C. Hmon- Lnr, citizen of the United States, residing at Pocatello, in the county of Bannock and State of Idaho, have invented certain new and useful Imorovements in Means for Straightening are and Their Loads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to straightening or re-shaping means for railway cars and for their loads.

That the purposes and uses of the invention may be fully understood and appreciated it should be stated that the loading of cars is subject to certain definite regulations adopted by masters of transportation of the various roads. These regulations prescribe the weight of the load, and the length, width, and height of the space to be occupied by oitferent classes of cargoes, so that they may be carried safely; prevented from shifting and encroaching upon the platform space or floor space deemed necessary to safety and convenience of the train crews; precluded from overhanging the car ends so as to interfere with proper movement of cars upon curves; prevented from projecting to an extent to permit contact with fixed objects or with passing trains; and generally to insure such placin and securing of loads as shall conduce to safety-and convenience, while utilizing the full carrying capacity of the cars,

Through minor collisions, such as are experienced in making up trains, bunting individual cars in switching, side-tracking, stopping, starting, etc., cars are themselves at times more or less deformed, their walls being thrown out of true lines and metal parts being bent or twisted.

Throu h the same or like causes, loads are often shifted or thrown out of proper shape, lumber and other long commodities being caused to slide longitudinally and overhang the car end or platform, and other commodi ties being caused to project beyond the proper lateral limits of the load.

To straighten up and restore to proper form a car body so thrown out of shape, it is usually necessary to send it to the shops, remove and straighten the bent or displaced parts, and restore them to place.

To unload and reload a car usually involves a considerable amount of time and much labor.

By the present invention such car injuries and such deformations or disarrangement of the car loads may be simply and speedily overcome, with little or no expenditure of manual labor.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the means whereby the stated results are at tained, and illustrate the mode of using the same. In these drawings:

Figures 1 and 2 are sectional elevations of the structure, showing the manner of its use in straightening a load of lumber, Fig. 1 showing the operation at its beginning and Fig. 2 at its completion;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view on a larger scale, showing a suitable construction of the frame-work and the manner of mounting and counterbalancing the adjustable beams against which shifted portions of theload or car are pressed, or which are pressed against such projecting portions;

A ig. '1. view, essentially diagrammatic in character, showing the manner of applying pressure to the side of a load for straightening the same;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the structure showing the car in plan and the jacks interposed between the load and adjustable beam for applying lateral pressure to the load.

It is to be understood that the illustrations here given are merely for the purpose of elucidating the general principle and mode of operation, and that the framing may be varied at will, its design being a matter belonging properly to the builder or engineer rather than matter essential to the present invention.

Briefly stated, the invention consists in constructing on each side of and parallel with a railway track, a strong vertical frame or wall suitably braced and stayed and preferably cross-connected, and suspending therefrom or otherwise adjustably combining therewith horizontal beams, of which there should be one at each side of the track and one at right angles to'the track, those parallel with the track being on the inner side of the walls and those at right angles to the track being arranged to lie against the outer faces of vertical portions of the walls at or near the ends of said walls, or between two vertical members.

is a transverse vertical sectional In using this structure or apparatus, if the displacement of the load, or it may be of the car body itself, be in the direction of the length of the car, the transverse beam or member at the end of the structure from which the car approaches, is lowered to a proper level to afford a hearing or abutment against which the protruding or displaced portion of the load or of the car shall abut when the car is moved toward it. The beam lying against a vertical face or member of the walls and being supported thereby, and the car being moved so as to drive or press the load or the car against it with adequate force, the displaced portion of the load or of the car will be held while the remainder of the load or of the car will be carried forward and properly positioned under the portion held back. If the displacement be lateral, the longitudinal beam on the side toward which the displacement has occurred is lowered to the proper level, and jacks or other devices capable of applying heavy pressure are interposed between such beam and the load, or between the wall and the beam, and suitably.manipulated to apply pressure against the load in the proper di rection.

In both cases, that is to say, whether the displarement be longitudinal or lateral, it is commonly necessary to place the beam or abutment successively at different levels, so as to operate upon the different portions of the misp aced load or structure successively and progressively, but this will de' pend largely upon the depth or vertical measurement of the beam, which may be such as to make it in effect a curtain or broad plate capable of acting at once upon a quite large portion of the load or of the car. It is, however, preferred usually to make the abutment in the form of a beam, and to face its vertical sides with metal which may conveniently be in the form of light channel irons.

Referring again to the drawings, 1 and 2' represent two vertical frames or walls, here shown of heavy timbers suitably framed together, and trussed or braced to give adequate strength and rigidity, for which however may be substituted walls of structural steel or iron, cement, or any other usual building material. 3 and 4 indicate horizontal beams or abutment-s arranged crosswise of the space included between the up right walls, and lying against or close to vertical members or faces of the walls or frames at or near the ends of said walls. Similar beams abutments 5 and 6 are arranged to lie against or in close proximity to the inner faces of the upright walls or frames 1 and 2. Each of the beams 3, 4:, 5 and 6 is suspended by cables 7 passing over pulleys 8. here shown as mounted upon the upper stringer or edge of the frames or walls 1 or 2, and provided at their opposite ends with counterweights. The counterweights associated with each beam will be sufiicient in the aggregate to counterbalance accurately the weight of such beam, so that when raised or lowered to the proper level the beam will retain such position. 9 indicates a railway track passing through the space between the walls 1 and 2, and serving to support and direct the car which, or the load of which, is to be straightened or re-shaped.

Any recognized equivalent of the means of adjusting and holding at the desired adjustment the beams 3, 4, 5 and 6 may of course be used in lieu of the pulleys and counterweighted cables, but this means is at once simple, inexpensive, and convenient of operation.

In Figs. 4 and 5 screw jacks 10 are shown interposed between the beam'5 and the load, but it is obvious as above stated, that any equivalent means, as levers, simple or compound, may be substituted for the jacks, and interposed either between the beam and the load or between the wall and the beam, so as to apply lateral pressure to the load or to the car, as the case may be.

By this simple means and mode of operation it has been found practicable to restore to proper form in a quite brief period, loads which would require the services of several men for a considerable period of time and involve the expenditure of much energy. The same is true of cars. 7

The work may be somewhat facilitated by placing upon the rails a stop to prevent the overtravel of the car toward the beam or abutment at the time employed, thus insuring a longitudinal movement of the displaced car body, lumber, or cargoes, to bring the face or portions operated upon into co men vertical plane. In applying lateral pressure, the manipulation of the jacks, levers, or other devices being under manual control, the range of movement can be nicely regulated without the'use of stops or any gaging means, which in the case of longitudinal replacement may be used or omitted as found expedient.

Practical use of the invention has shown that material saving, both in time and in cost, can be effected by the use of this invention, and that work which is oftentimes such as to severely tax the strength of laborers and'which they are reluctant to perform, can be speedily done and with a degree of precision diflicult of attainment through manual effort alone.

It is apparent also that the transverse beams or abutments may be pressed against the displaced car body or'load by jacks or other and equivalent devices, in the same manner as are the longitudinal beams when acting upon the sides of the car or load.

It is to be understood that throughout the specification the terms car and load are interchangeable, when referring to the operatlons;

straightening or re-forming that is to say, the same means and procedure are applicable to the straightening of a car body or of a load carried by a car.

It is particularly to be noted that the above described structure may be located at any point in the length of the track, and hat when the transverse beams are sufii ciently elevated, trains may pass freely through the structure. that either or both ends of the car or its load may be straightened or restored to proper position without turning the car end for end. This is accomplished by running the car toward the transverse beam from one side thereof, then lifting the beam or beams to clear the car or load, and then moving the car in the reverse direction against one of th beams. In this respect the present structure differs from and is highly advantageous over, a permanent butting block fixed in position across railway track. Being adjustable to any height or level from that of the rails to that of the top of the structure, the transverse beam or beams may be readily positioned to act upon any part of the car or its load at will, and the same is true of the longitudinal beams, Marked economy in time, labor, and cost is hence effected by the use of the structure above described.

Having thus described my invention and set forth an embodiment thereof suitable to the purpose, what I claim is l. The herein described means of straightening cars and their loads, comprising a wall or frame at either side of a railway track; beams or abutments carried by said walls and vertically adjustable relatively thereto, certain of said beams or abutments extending lengthwise of and in proximity to the inner or opposing faces of said walls or frames and others thereof extending transversely of the track, each of said beams or abutments being adjustable to a position in h rizontal plane with the displaced portion of the car or of the load; the car or load and any selected abutment being movable, one relatively to the other,

2. In combination with a way or track 3? a vehicle, an upright wall at one side of and substantially parallel with the track or a beam or abutment supported in prosimity to said wall between the same and the track or way and vertically adjustable; a vehicle movable upon said track or way; and means for applying pressure from said It will also be seenbeam or abutment to the side face of the vehicle'or its load.

3. In combination with a track or Way, an upright wall at one side of and parallel with said track or way; and means intermediate said wall and the track or way for applying pressure to the side face of a vehicle movable upon the track or to the load v carried by said vehicle.

at. in combination with a track or way,

an upright wall at one side thereof and substantially parallel therewith; a vertically movable beam or abutment lying in proximity to said wall between its upright face and the track or way; suspending devices for said beam or abutment; counterweights ap plied to the suspending devices and serving to maintain the beam or abutment at the elevation to which it may be adjusted; and means for applying lateral pressure from the beam or abutment to a vehicle movable along the track or way or to the load carried by such vehicle.

In combination with a track or way, uprights on opposite sides thereof; a transverse beam or abutment extending across the track or way and lying in proximity to vertical faces of the respective uprights; and means for adjusting said beam or abutment to and holding the same at any desired elevation in the path of a vehicle movable upon lying one in proximity to the inner face of each of said walls; and means for raising and lowering the respective beams or abutments to different heights or levels, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination with a track or way,

uprights at either side thereof; a horizontal beam or abutment extending transversely across the track or way and resting against said uprights at opposite sides of the track or way; and means for raising and lowering said beam to any desired height or level, and thereby placing it across the path of any )ortion of the end of a car or of the end of the load on said car.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

AUGUSTUS C. HINCKLEY.

horizontal beams or abutments, 95 

